


Just Wanted Some Peace and Quiet

by chaosphoenix123



Category: Warframe
Genre: F/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-13
Updated: 2018-08-16
Packaged: 2018-12-27 09:02:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12077901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chaosphoenix123/pseuds/chaosphoenix123
Summary: Chroma was a hunter of beast; a loner amongst the Tenno. He only did solo missions and didn't interact with the others. One day, fate decides that it was time that he started being a team player. After a mission, he finds himself attracting the attention of his female teammates as well as becoming the Stalker #1 target.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: This is my first attempt at the Warframe fandom. Got the game recently and took a liking to it. Chroma is my favorite just because of his versatile. This will be a different universe than the actual game and here are a list of changes:
> 
> 1\. There are only 34 Tenno (more will be added as the game adds them)
> 
> 2\. They are humans inside specially made suits that help contain their abilities. They can only be outside their suits for six hours at a time, afterward their powers start going out of control. The ages vary from 18-36, each has their own reasons for staying around, they have all their abilities unlock and even a few new ones, and they each have a personality. Also, Prime and Umbra armors will still play a role.
> 
> 3\. Excalibur was the first to be awaken, Chroma was the second.
> 
> 4\. The Orbiter has been expanded to be big enough to fit all 34 of the Tenno, Lotus, and their companions. Everyone has their own quarters and even their own landing craft within the hangar bay. There is no unlocking a planet, they go where they are needed.
> 
> 5\. It took up to two years to awaken all of the Tenno, though Valykr was rescue by Excalibur and Chroma thus making her the third Tenno to be awaken.
> 
> 6\. They are on good terms with all six major syndicates. They still hate one another, but the Tenno are a neutral party.
> 
> 7\. The Stalker has not arrived...yet.
> 
> 8\. They all have fragment memories of their lives before becoming Tenno, which will be explained as the story goes along.
> 
> 9\. The Orokin empire was that. It had a ruling Emperor along with a noble class.
> 
> 10\. The Relays are run by a new neutral faction, not the Tenno, that will be introduce later on.
> 
> 11\. Weapons load: The Tenno will have a choice besides the standard. They can ditch one slot for another; they can have two primary weapons, one melee, and no secondary or two melee, one secondary, and no primary, etc. They will never have more than three weapons.
> 
> Going to be honest, not expecting much out of this story due to the small fandom on this site. Oh well.

**A/N: This is my first attempt at the Warframe fandom. Got the game recently and took a liking to it. Chroma is my favorite just because of his versatile. This will be a different universe than the actual game and here are a list of changes:**

**1\. There are only 34 Tenno (more will be added as the game adds them)**

**2\. They are humans inside specially made suits that help contain their abilities. They can only be outside their suits for six hours at a time, afterward their powers start going out of control. The ages vary from 18-36, each has their own reasons for staying around, they have all their abilities unlock and even a few new ones, and they each have a personality. Also, Prime and Umbra armors will still play a role.**

**3\. Excalibur was the first to be awaken, Chroma was the second.**

**4\. The Orbiter has been expanded to be big enough to fit all 34 of the Tenno, Lotus, and their companions. Everyone has their own quarters and even their own landing craft within the hangar bay. There is no unlocking a planet, they go where they are needed.**

**5\. It took up to two years to awaken all of the Tenno, though Valykr was rescue by Excalibur and Chroma thus making her the third Tenno to be awaken.**

**6\. They are on good terms with all six major syndicates. They still hate one another, but the Tenno are a neutral party.**

**7\. The Stalker has not arrived...yet.**

**8\. They all have fragment memories of their lives before becoming Tenno, which will be explained as the story goes along.**

**9\. The Orokin empire was that. It had a ruling Emperor along with a noble class.**

**10\. The Relays are run by a new neutral faction, not the Tenno, that will be introduce later on.**

**11\. Weapons load: The Tenno will have a choice besides the standard. They can ditch one slot for another; they can have two primary weapons, one melee, and no secondary or two melee, one secondary, and no primary, etc. They will never have more than three weapons.**

**12\. Would also like to point out that the Tenno aren't friends, well most of them aren't anyway. For a majority of them, they're teammates and nothing more.**

**13\. Everyone is aware of the Grineer Queens, though no one still has ever since them before and even the Lotus knows little about them.**

**Going to be honest, not expecting much out of this story due to the small fandom on this site. Oh well.**

**_Whether You Like It or Not_ **

It was peaceful deep in the part of the jungle where Excalibur was currently standing. Lushes greenery surrounded the alpha Tenno as he surveys the area, scanning for his target. His goal was no easy prey to find though, not in the slightest, for his prey was known to everyone, including the Lotus, as a loner. Whether on missions or on his own time, Chroma preferred being by himself, away from the others, only really being seen when it was his turn to stand watch on the bridge or mission control. The majority of the times when he was seen alongside the others was only at briefings, even then, only if he had to be. The fact that he took his landing craft from the Orbiter to Earth shows how serious he was about having privacy.

Excalibur always found it little funny that despite Chroma being the second Tenno to be awaken, after Excalibur himself, he took almost no part in their organization other than missions. By all rights, he should be second-in-command of the overall thirty-four Tenno. Other have openly discussed that they could easily be second-in-command, though Chroma has openly stated that he would only took orders from Excalibur and the Lotus herself.

Unfortunately, a few of the other Tenno, namely Oberon, have seen this as insubordination at its finest and has put forth arguments stating Chroma should be willing to take orders from those that were in charge of whatever mission was going on. But before Excalibur could do anything, the Lotus herself step in, saying that Chroma was technically in the right. She pointed out that Excalibur was the only other authority beside herself that was recognized in their faction who can give others. Also, that since Chroma only went out on solo missions, he was right in his statement on how he only took orders from Lotus and Excalibur.

The sound of footsteps nearby snaps Excalibur out of his thoughts as he turns to his left to see Chroma appearing out of the shadow of the trees, slowing hulking toward Excalibur. His blood red armor was cover in an electrifying aura that send tiny sparks to the plants around him. Excalibur remembers Chroma mentioning that he chose that element whenever he was in the forest cause it was the only one that didn't harm the vegetation.

"Excalibur", he greets in an almost welcome, yet gruffly, manner as he stood towering over the field commander of the Tenno, "What is it that you need?"

Excalibur's eyes flicker toward the Dynasty Galatine strap to Chroma's back while the elemental Tenno eyes the Dragon Nikana that hug on the Alpha Tenno's waist. Both swords were already considered powerful, even by Tenno's standards, and with Dynasty Galatine in the hands of Chroma and Dragon Nikana in the hands of Excalibur, they were nearly legendary.

But that wasn't the only thing that caught Excalibur's attention…

Attach to Chroma's back was the powerful Daikyu bow, capable of impaling a heavily armor Grineer deep into a steel wall. Not even the deadly archer Tenno, Ivara, could use the bow properly due to the strength that was required to draw and hold it. While she could still fire it off and score kills with it, she lack the stunning accuracy she had with other bows and seldom got a headshot with it.

Then there was the Ferrox that Chroma was holding in his hand, the Corpus spear gun that the Tenno took off the corpse of Derim Zahn when he came across him while on an operation against the Index. Normally, Chroma had a certain level of respect for the dead when it came to their belongings and usually left them alone; but he made an exception for the Ferrox after witnessing first-hand the deadly potential it had. With it ionized shot that disintegrates whatever it hits and the fact that it can create a field of attraction that can hold a number of enemies in place and it completed Chroma's deadly array of weapons that he took into the field.

"The Lotus is calling for a meeting", Excalibur explains, bringing his attention back to the matter at hand, "All Tenno are to attend."

Excalibur sworn he saw Chroma raise an eyebrow underneath his pelt.

"You could have just told me that over the comm-link instead of coming all the way down here", he said as he pointed upward, "Ordis is constantly scanning them to make sure they're secure, even at a distance."

"It's urgent and you know how you like to dally. Plus, I wanted to talk to you about something else", Excalibur said as he walks closer to Chroma, "The Lotus believes it's time for you to start taking on team missions once more."

"Is this an order?", came out of Chroma's mouth.

"More like a suggestion", Excalibur assure him, "The Grineer are diverting more of their forces at us and eventually, even you are going to have trouble going solo and lets be frank, most of your abilities are gear toward supporting a team."

"They're also gear toward supporting just me. Look, when the day comes that I need someone watching my back out there again, you'll be the first to know.", Chroma states as he begins walking pass Excalibur.

"That day may come a lot sooner then you think", Excalibur says, causing Chroma to stop in his tracks.

Silence passes between them for a moment as the two of tell stood there, facing away from one another.

"Do you remember what your life was like?", Chroma asks, breaking the silence, "Before you got put into the warframe? Before the  **Zariman Ten Zero?**  "

This wasn't just some random question that came out of nowhere. None of the Tenno have a full memory of their past. They might remember certain faces and events, but never all of it for there are too many blank spaces in mind. Too many questions and nowhere close to enough answers.

Chroma watches Excalibur intently as the Alpha Tenno looks up at the sky in remembrance...

"I was the son of a high-ranking Orokin general alongside Nyx. I was taught the sword from an early age, you?", Excalibur answer as he thought of his little sister, Nyx. The two of them were the only blood relatives among the Tenno and that did give them some advantages on and off missions. Generally, it gave each of them someone to talk to, someone they could relate to.

"I came from a family of hunters on the outskirts of the empire, on a planet where beasts who were thought to be dragons still reign supreme", Chroma reply before looking up at the skies, "But there will be more time to talk about that later; let's get going to this urgent meeting."

"One more question, Chroma", Excalibur says, "What do you think of Mesa?"

To say Chroma was caught off-guard by the question would be like saying Octiva enjoy singing as the Dragon Tenno turns around, "Why?"

"Just want your honest opinion on her, you seem to have a knack for being brutally honest.", Excalibur quickly explains, to which Chroma couldn't help but agree. His blunt nature and his tendency to speak without thinking have almost gotten him into a couple fights with his fellow Tenno onboard the Orbiter, especially Nezha.

" _All I said is that he shouldn't be mad if people mistake him for a girl",_ Chroma thought before answering, "She's too loud for missions that require one to be silent. From what I read on reports and overheard from those who have done operations with her, she has a tendency to "go loud" as she likes to put it and disregard stealth and go straight for a frontal assault, drawing the whole enemy base to her location. The fact that she doesn't ever carry a melee weapon with her to combat only puts more of a burden on her teammates who have to cover her while she reloads. I acknowledge her pistol marksmanship with is the best among us all and she is one of our top tier snipers, but it doesn't make up for the fact that she is more of an obstacle than a help on missions; thus I'm not that surprised that she has gone on so few solo operations. It seems she constantly needs someone watching her back."

Excalibur stood there, taking in everything Chroma just said about the gunslinger Tenno...

"Thank you, Chroma, for your...honest opinion", he gently said as he looks back toward the sky and sees two landing craft heading toward them, " _If there are still gods in this world, I ask that you watch over me for the task ahead."_

**Onboard the Orbiter**

"Ash, thirty-two. Gara, thirty-three. Chroma, thirty-four", Ordis sound off, "Well, all Tenno are accounted for, now we get this briefing done so we can-  _bring down the vile Grineer regime-_ carry on with our duties."

"Well, isn't this a surprise?", Loki commented as he glances around the briefing room, everyone already knowing that the prankster was smiling under his helmet, "All of us here under one roof for the first time in forever", as his gaze falls upon Chroma, who was standing off in a corner, away from everyone else, "Even the mighty lone wolf of the group has decided to grace us with his presence."

Chroma merely grunts in response, buying no mind to Loki's and his antics. He could hear his Effigy growling inside the depths of his mind, begging to be unleash upon the trickster Tenno.

" _ _No, Aforitos, now is not the time_ ", _Chroma order, " _Whether you like it or not, he is an ally, regrettably. Plus, you know it's not allowed."_

Ever since Ember and Frost had a fight over how an ancient Earth beverage call coffee should be served, (Ember said hot and Frost said cold with ice), which left half the ship either frozen or scorch, the Lotus has forbidden the use of weapons or abilities being use outside the training room unless you had hers or Excalibur's permission to do so. Any violators of this rule, and there have been a couple, were given clean-up duty to which they had to pick up after the kubrows and kavats whenever they "answer the call of nature". Even Chroma found it hard to suppress a laugh upon seeing Rhino sweeping up a huge pile that someone's kubrow left in one of the hallways after he decided to test whether or not the walls of the ship could survive one of his charges.

The Lotus entering the room alongside Excalibur snaps Chroma out of his thoughts as she walks to the center and began to address everyone…

"I see that everyone is present so now we can begin this briefing", as a hologram showing Captain Vor appear in front of her, "Intel from Dravo and our contacts in the syndicates have discovered that Captain Vor has been promoted back to the rank of Admiral."

A mutter erupts through the Tenno.

"As I sure you are aware, this means that he now has access to more resources than before and no doubt will be using them against us and our allies", Lotus said.

"Why the sudden promotion?", Atlas asks, "He was demoted specifically because he disobeys orders from the Queens; why promote him again?

"Our intel suggests that despite the blows we have dealt Captain Vor and his forces, there have been a few times where his forces have prevented us from completing our mission objectives; so far he has been the only Grineer commander to do so. So it would seem that the Queens believe that giving him access to more forces will garner more victories."

Silence descended upon the room as the information sunk in.

"What can we be expecting?", Mirage asks.

"At least three full divisions of Grineer infantry", Lotus reply.

"Well, shit", Ember said.

"Exactly", Lotus said, "Which is why we need to eliminate Vor and his lieutenants, especially lieutenant Lech Kril, before they arrive. Our spies say that the forces are still five days from arriving at Vor's new experimental base located on the surface of Mercury, so if we take him and his leadership out before they show up, they will be diverted back toward their original posts. Also, it seems that the majority of Vor's forces are spread out throughout the system; assisting Grineer forces in combating the Infected and certain Corpus factions. His remaining forces number just under a thousand strong."

"Stills sound pretty risky attacking Vor at his headquarters", Volt pointed out to which more than a couple of the Tenno agreed,"Also, seeing how our shields may have trouble dealing with the high temperature of the planet's surface."

"It is, that's why this will be an all-team effort", Lotus said, "All Tenno will be participating in this attack. Vor is still in the process of relocating his base to the surface and thus is not fully fortify yet. Now is the perfect time to strike while he is at his weakest. Your shields and interior cooling system should hold up as long you don't stay in direct sunlight for a prolonged extension of time. But it would be best if you seek shelter as soon as possible."

"Be that as it may", Volt voices up again, " All the Tenno there in one spot. For all we know this could be a trap."

"I believe you're giving Vor too much credit. Besides, it's the only way to be sure. Usually I'm against doing this sort of thing but there is lot is on the line here", Lotus explain as a battle-map came up, "One of our Syndicate allies, Cressa Tal and her Steel Meridian, will launch a large assault on a nearby outpost not far from Vor's headquarters, forcing him to divert forces there in an effort to repel them. Once that happens, one team consisting of the majority of you will be drop into the facility, close to Vor's most likely location. Another team will be drop on the far-side of the facility to act as a diversion to get the remaining enemy forces to gather at your position."

"Why just Steel Meridian?", Wukong asks, "We're on good terms with all six syndicates. Hell, each of them owes us at least a dozen favor, we could easily have a larger force given to us for this mission."

"Other than the obvious fact that they hate one another? The fact that if we send too large of a force to attack the outpost, Vor will most likely not even bother sending reinforcements and will instead just fortify his position even more. We need a large enough force that will cause the outpost to call for help while being small enough that Vor will send additional forces to aid them. Seeing how we're sending Steel Meridian forces, the most-hated syndicate for the Grineer, this will surely catch Vor's attention", Lotus explain as she went back to the battle-map, "Moving on, the diversion team will consist of-"

"I'll do it ", Chroma immediately volunteers from his corner of the room, causing everyone to look at him while Excalibur could only shake his head.

"Here it comes", he mutters as the Lotus began to speak.

"Actually, Chroma, you were selected to be on the diversion team", she began.

"Okay, what resistance can I be expecting?", Chroma said.

"I wasn't finish talking, Chroma", Lotus interrupted, catching everyone by surprise excluding Excalibur, " Like I said, you were selected to be part of the diversion  **team** , as in there will be more than one of you fulfilling this goal."

An eerie silence descends upon the briefing room as even Loki has stop grinning, (not that anyone could tell). No one ever thought of Chroma as being a "team player". In fact, most of them thought that he was incapable of acting as one. He was rarely seen outside of his quarters, his time in the training simulator was always by himself, and he even kept his personal weapons, which he gathered the materials and made himself, locked away from the others in the armory. Other than bridge watches, mission control, or patrols, no one really ever interacted with Chroma, (it didn't help that during all those duties, he rarely ever spoke.)

The silence continues for well over a minute as everyone waited for Chroma's reaction. He was just constantly staring at the Lotus, like a predator eyeing its prey, ready to pounce. Those closest to his position could see a small billow of smoke coming out of his nostrils.

Finally, Chroma spoke.

"Who else is going to be on the team?"

"Mesa", Lotus answers and this time full flames came blazing out of Chroma's nose as his eyes turn into a glare and he slowly turns his head toward the gunslinger Tenno, but not before shooting a fiery glare at Excalibur.

"Is my choice of teammates optional?" he nearly growl now realizing why Excalibur asked him that question earlier.

"Well shit, suga", Mesa spoke up as she laid back in her chair, "If I didn't know any better I say you didn't like me."

Before Chroma could say anything, the Lotus spoke up...

"Mesa's abilities are the most suitable alongside yours in this mission, so that's a negative on changing partners" she stated, "Her long-range capabilities along with your melee expertise will allow you two to hold off the Grineer indefinitely until the assassination is complete. Now seeing how Mercury is still six hours away even at our top speed, everyone is to rest up for the time being. You will receive a more detail brief once Mercury is within range."

All the Tenno proceed to leave the briefing room, only for the Lotus to call out to Chroma and Mesa.

"Not you two, you are to report to the simulator room."

This catches everyone off-guard as they turn to stare at the Lotus.

"I know what you all are thinking, but while Chroma and Mesa skills are more than enough to complete this job on their own, they have never been on a team together before and therefore I believe a co-op simulator run is in order", Lotus states as she turns to the alpha Tenno, " Excalibur, if you will come with me to the bridge."

**Orbitor's Bridge**

"I can sense that most of the Tenno do not approve of this mission", the Lotus said as she and Excalibur enter the bridge, the door sliding behind them.

"That's a bigger understatement the time you said that Rhino may be a little peeved after you cut down his gym time", Excalibur responded.

"He didn't need ten hours in there, but that is beside the point", Lotus began, "Why do you think they feel like that?"

Lotus often look to Excalibur for guidance just as much as he look to her for it. When it came down to it, he was closer to the rest of the Tenno then she would ever be just by the fact that he was one of them.

"Two things, Lotus", he began, "First off, the fact that we're sending everyone at Vor may make it seem like he is an even bigger threat to us than he actually is."

"Excalibur, how many attempts have we made on Vor's life?", Lotus asks, causing Excalibur to let out a sigh.

"Four ", he answers, "Once by me, once by Loki, once by Ivara, and once by Ash."

"And seeing how he is still alive, it's safe to say that none of those attempts work", Lotus says while turning to look out into space.

"Those were all solo missions with no available backup whatsoever!", Excalibur argue, "All of us were lucky to make it back alive and even Ivara and Ash were out of commission for a good two weeks afterward with their injuries! If we would have sent a team in-"

"Which is precisely what I'm doing", Lotus interrupted in a calming voice while still looking out into the stars, "I am sending in the whole team to kill Vor and his lieutenants to make sure none of them escape this time."

Excalibur shakes his head in frustration before moving on, "Fine, if that's what you want, though I still fail to see why all of his lieutenants are important, Lech Kril is the only dangerous one among them."

"Precisely why he will be the top priority after Vor. While Lech Kril is the most dangerous, by wiping out all of his command in a single strike, we are able to ensure that no one will be placed in a position to take over for Vor", Lotus explains, "Now on to the second thing."

Excalibur lets out a breath as he slightly shook his head, "At first, I was all for Chroma doing team missions, but upon seeing his reaction in the briefing room, I'm starting to have second thoughts."

"And why is that?", Lotus inquire.

"Chroma has only done one team mission, despite what almost everyone believes", he began.

"Yes, I recall you two partnering up to rescue Valkyr once Dravo informed us of her captivity quite some time ago", Lotus remember.

"Then you also recall what happen upon us waking her up out of her cryopod."

….

…..

…

"She attacked you."

"That's a light way of saying she went full-on berserk aka  _ **Hysteria**_  on us and it took both my  _ **Exalted Blade**_  and Chroma's  _ **Effigy**_  to finally subdue her, which was hard seeing how they're meant to finish opponents off", Excalibur said, "But ever since then, Chroma has avoided going out on anything that wasn't a solo mission."

"And you feel that by forcing him on a team mission will bring about disastrous consequences, yes?", Lotus asks.

"I feel that they won't be positive", Excalibur admitted.

"Well then, let's see how the simulator run goes then", Lotus said, "Ordis, bring up the simulator room."

"Yes, Lotus", as a screen appear in front of her, showing Chroma and Mesa standing alongside one another on top of holopads in the center of a large all-white room, neither one talking or even looking at the other, "Both operators have inserted training mods into their weapons and warframe and are awaiting - _the word to go all out-_  further instructions."

"Bring up Mercury course, delta-one-alpha-zulu-two, Ordis", Lotus commanded.

"Lotus, that course is un-finish due to lack of proper intel gathering of the actual site", Ordis responded.

"It's a seventy percent near perfect replicate of Vor's headquarters, thus it will have to do", Lotus reply, "Let's go with five full platoons of Grineer marines. You may start when ready."

"Yes, Lotus", Ordis answer.

"I believe your worries are unfounded, Excalibur. I am certain that Chroma and Mesa will excel to the best of their abilities and put aside their differences for the sake of the mission."

**Three hours later on the outskirts of Mercury**

Silence reign supreme in the briefing room, despite almost everyone on the ship being there, minus a few sentinels, kubrows, and kavats. Everyone was exchanging glances between Chroma, who stood by himself in his corner with his eyes closed, then to Mesa, who was sitting arms cross next to Octiva in silence, and then at the Lotus, who was standing at the front center, with a faint scowl on her lips.

And that's where it began…

"Chroma. Mesa.", the Lotus began in a flat tone voice, devoid of any emotion, " I...have seen many things over the years. I have witnessed the birth of the syndicates, back when there were over a hundred of them. From afar; I have observed the rise of the Corpus and Grineer and their countless wars against one another. I have seen colonies prosper, I have seen them wither and die, either through war, famine or swept away by the infected."

" _How old is she?",_ Excalibur wonder, knowing full well that he wasn't the only one thinking that, " _I know she's definitely not human despite her appearance, but she has never really disclosed any personal information about herself."_

"But what I witness today in the training simulator was by far the most undisciplined, childish, and unprofessional, spectacle I have ever had the misfortune to witness!", Lotus said, her voice steadily rising, with anger beginning to seep in, "Not only did you two fail to complete your goal, you had the sheer audacity to start bickering in the middle of a gunfight, afterwards ejecting your training mods from both your weapons and your warframes and began to fight one another!"

Both Chroma and Mesa at least had the sense to turn their heads away after this accusation; though thanks to their helmets no one could tell if it was in embarrassment, anger, shame, or a mixture of all three.

"The both of you have caused unimaginable damage to the training simulator room and if it wasn't for Excalibur going in there and stopping you, no doubt the damage would have exceeded beyond that room!"

Mesa thought back to that particular moment when she and Chroma were in the middle of fighting another when Excalibur bust into the room. She was in the proceed of flipping of the way of a swipe from the Dragon Tenno sword and had drawn her Regulators and had them aim at his head when Excalibur came in with his  _ **Exalted Sword**_  fully draw and shining so brightly that it almost blinded her. When he demanded that both Mesa and Chroma cease their actions, Mesa immediately retracted her Regulators and threw the rest of her weapons on the ground, (though it broke her heart a little to see her precious Akvasto hit the steel floor. Out of all the Tenno, she spends the most time tinkering with her guns to keep them in prime condition), but when she glances toward Chroma, she spotted something that surprise her….

Chroma had yet to drop his sword.

In fact, he still had it raise up, his hands tighten around the grip as though he was ready to strike. The look he was throwing Excalibur was so heated that Chroma could have breathed fire and it wouldn't have been as hot as the look in his eyes. But Excalibur wasn't backing down either as he held his blade of pure energy up in a fighting stance. It was only after a few, high tension, moments that Chroma sheath his blade and stomp his way out, never once looking back at Excalibur as his heavy footsteps echo throughout the training room and the hallway afterward.

" _I honestly thought Chroma and Excalibur were going to fight. Seriously, what the hell happened between those two?",_ Mesa thought before returning her attention back to the Lotus, who was winding down from her, surprisingly calm, tirade.

"Furthermore, along with you two taking on syndicate jobs in over to pay for the damages you cause to the training room, you two will also be taking double shifts on bridge watches, mission control, and patrols until I say otherwise", the Lotus ordered.

" _Fucking perfect",_ Mesa thought and briefly looks over her shoulder to see Chroma's reaction to the news, " _Still just standing there, arms cross and everything."_

 _"_ Now we will have to delay the assault by at least a full day while we reorganize the teams and put Mesa into an appropriate squad and find another task for Chroma ", Lotus complained aloud, "Ordis, send a message to Cressa Tal, telling her to hold off on her attack until further notice."

"Right away, Lotus. I shall contact her imm-", Ordis replied before getting cut off, "Hmmm, well, that is * _fucking awful*_ unfortunate news."

"Ordis?", Lotus asks.

"Lotus, it would seem that Cressa Tal and her Steel Meridian have already launched their assault on the outpost", Ordis answers.

"WHAT?!", resounds throughout the room, "The attack wasn't supposed to go off for another three hours!"

"Her vanguard teams are already hitting the first line of defense even as we speak", Ordis continued on, "Grineer radio chatters indicate the outpost is requesting aid and the main base is in the process of mobilizing at least five full companies to go aid them. "Lotus, by my calculations, base on monitor radio chatter and intel reports, that is almost -  _a shit ton-_ half the base responding."

"That's more than what we expected", Lotus realize while also feeling a headache coming on, "How many Steel Meridan soldiers are attacking?"

"At least three hundred, including Cressa Tal herself", Ordis answered, "Radio chatters points to the logical conclusion that this is why they're sending so many. The Grineer Queens have recently placed a high bounty on her head, promising any officer who brings her to them a council position."

"Tell Cressa Tal to withdraw, for now, we can't risk losing one of our allies, no matter how unstable they are", Lotus ordered, only to be met with silence from Ordis.

...

"Lotus, a recently intercepted radio transmission states that Captain Vor himself, along with Lieutenant Lech Kril, are preparing to go out to the outpost as well, via dropship, in an effort to, and I quote, capture the alleged war criminal themselves", Ordis said, "They are leaving a small skeleton crew at the main base and taking a majority of the garrison with them to aid the outpost. If I'm reading the radio chatter right, they're planning to execute encircling maneuvers to prevent Cressa Tal from escaping and are ordering their anti-aircraft guns to shoot down any approaching aircraft that don't belong to their side. Steel Meridian's dropships would no doubt have extreme difficulty getting through their screen. By my calculations, if Captain Vor's forces are able to pull off these maneuvers, the Steel Meridian forces will be - _slaughter to a man_ \- wiped out within an hour, if not less. I have tried reaching Cressa Tal and her forces to warn them, but have been unable to raise them."

Lotus' facial expression said it all. If Cressa Tal is capture or worse, the rest of Steel Meridian, along with the colonies that are protecting will fall as well in no time. Not only will this shift the balance of power among the syndicates, but also the system as a whole. She had a choice to make and she had to make it fast.

"Alright, new strategy", Lotus announce, "All the Tenno who were not assigned to the distraction team are going to be landed behind Captain Vor and his forces in their respective teams and hit him from behind. His and Lieutenant Kril deaths are still a top priority, but if you see a chance to aid Steel Meridian, take it. This also changes the mission parameters as you will more than likely be assaulting enemies forces from across the planet's surface. Try to avoid prolonged exposure to the sunlight as your shields will already be push to their limits and take cover when you can. Also realize that Cressa Tal and her forces, along with Vor's, are facing the same conditions. Grineer are tough, but even they won't last long in these conditions."

"And what about Chroma and Mesa?", Excalibur asks.

"Those two will be drop into Steel Meridian's position to aid them", she states as she turns to look at the two Tenno in question, "Under any other circumstances, I would not be considering this, but too much is at stake here and I hope you realize that and are able to put your difference aside for the sake of the colonies that this syndicate protects for if Cressa Tal dies, Steel Meridian dies with her. Your orders are simple: keep her alive at all cost. Failure to complete this mission will have dire consequences; for you and everyone else."

...

...

"All Tenno!", Lotus ordered after a few moments of silence, "Prepare to launch! You got five minutes to get ready! You will receive any additional information in-flight to your drop positions! Now go!", and with that, the Tenno ran out of the briefing room in a mad, but somewhat organize frenzy.

By some coincidence, both Chroma and Mesa were running alongside one another down the hallway.

"You stay out of my way out there and you might not get a bullet in your skull, suga", Mesa calmly threaten.

"You stay out of my way out there or else the last thing you'll see in this life is a blade coming down on top of your head", Chroma responded back.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**Judgement**

" _I really wish I had more time to prepare",_ Chroma thought as he hovers an inch off the interior surface of his landing craft, a red-coated Scimitar, " _Then I would have had time to change my energy to one that would have been more useful for the operation."_

Chroma was unique amongst the Tenno for his ability to change his energy and therefore his element. Unlike the other elemental Tenno like Volt or Frost, he could change his element to counter whatever enemy he was most likely going to encounter in the field by choosing between fire, frost, electric, and corrosive gas. One of the drawbacks of this is that it requires him to meditate for at least two hours before missions as so he could change his energy flow to the desired one. Another drawback of this was that it made his energy significantly unstable, at least compared to everyone else. The majority of his non-mission time, if he wasn't in the training room or on watch, was taken up by him performing nartas, ancient Tenno katas, or meditating, to help him focus his energy and keep it under control, hence the solitude.

His thoughts and focus were interrupted by the sound of his "partner" radioing him across the frequency.

"Hey, suga", Mesa said and Chroma turns to glare at his starboard viewing screen where a yellow-coated, blue stripes Xiphos was seen, "Can I ask you a question?"

"Before I allow you to, I strongly suggest that you stop calling me "suga", I have a codename, use it", Chroma growl, before hearing an annoyed sigh.

"Greaaat, you're one of them too", Mesa said.

"One of what?"

"One of those all-business, no-fun guys", Mesa explain, " The kind whose mind is always on the mission and nothing more, like Oberon and Excalibur. They don't like it when I address them as suga either."

"Did you ever stop to think it might be a matter of respect on why they don't like being called that?", Chroma inquires, "We call ourselves our codenames for a reason."

"We call each other the codename of our warframe and they're the name given to us by the Orokin scientists who experimented on us; a fact that most of you have seemed to have forgotten", Mesa retorted.

"I doubt anyone has forgotten about that", Chroma replied as he monitors his screens, "We are getting close to Mercury's stratosphere."

"I can see that" Mesa stated.

"Didn't you have a question for me?", Chroma suddenly remembers the main topic of their conversation before it got veer off.

"Oh yeah, that's right", Mesa said, "Why are you using your fire breath energy? Shouldn't you be using your corrosive gas, you know, something that actually works against the Grineer?"

Chroma didn't even try to stop the eye roll that followed.

**Onboard the Orbiter**

"Lotus, all landing craft are nearing their drop-off points", Ordis inform the leader of the Tenno from the bridge, "Operator Chroma and Mesa ETA to dropzone is exactly twenty minutes."

"Thank you, Ordis", the Lotus replies, "Now were all the modifications to the Tenno's warframes and landing craft completed?"

"Yes, Lotus. Shields have been augmented with the program that will allow them to withstand the temperature of the surface along with enhancing the interior cooling system of the suits. But these modifications can only keep them in a habitable environment for so long before it gets overwhelmed", Ordiswarnsn, "We should once again emphasize the need for them to secure a safe location, such as the interior of the outpost or otherwise, as soon as possible."

"All team leads; including Chroma and Mesa, have been instructing in this matter. Our main problem is ensuring that Cressa Tel survives this mission. Even if, by some miracle, Vor or Kril somehow survive this, as long as we get Cressa Tel to safety, we could count that as a minor victory", Lotus stated, though deep down she knew she needed Vor and Kril to die, or the repercussions would be felt through the system. But that wasn't the only thing troubling her, "Ordis?"

"Yes, Lotus?"

"Remind me again why Vor decided to build a base on the surface of Mercury? The extreme environment would push even the toughest Grineer to their limits."

"Well, Lotus, according to intel reports, Vor has always wanted only the toughest Grineer to make up his forces and thus he has already used a process to, in his words, weed out the weakness that is poisoning the Grineer", Ordis explain, doing nothing to ease Lotus' anxiety.

" _What if Volt was right_   _about this being a trap?",_ Lotus thought before quickly dismissing the idea, " _No, while Vor is far more intelligent than the average Grineer, him devising a trap like this that puts himself in clear mortal danger is below his comprehend."_

Lotus stares out into the cold abyss of space at the planet Mercury as it came into view, its inner space dotted with refinery asteroids and Grineer's ships.

" _Though he was able to reverse-engineer Orokin technology and make the Ascaris device that restrained Excalibur for quite some time",_ she thought.

_**In the skies of Mercury** _

" _We are approaching the drop site",_ Ordis informed Chroma and Mesa as they entered the suffocating atmosphere of the closest planet to the sun. Even with the highly advanced onboard cooling system within the landing craft, the dragon Tenno still felt the heat from outside as it baked the outer surface.

"Do we have a visual of Cressa Tal's position?", Chroma ask mentally dreading the paint job that he was going to have to fix himself on his landing craft later on.

"Yes, a visual of the –  _giant clusterfuck-_ ensuring battle is coming up in three….two….one", Ordis replied as a screen appears in front of Chroma's face and after analyzing it for a few moments, he felt his temper and annoyance rise.

"Well, hog tied me up and sell me at the market", Mesa voiced, "This couldn't have been a bigger shitstorm for us to fly into."

And Chroma couldn't help but agree with her as he surveys the battlefield through the screen because it would seem that despite having the element of surprise, the Steel Meridian forces failed to take the main building of the outpost, instead being forced to the outskirts where they seem to have taken shelter in a series of caves that litter the landscape. Above them, rapid bursts of anti-air fire blanketed the skies.

"Judging by the firing pattern of the flak guns, it would seem that there is no distinct strategy to the anti-aircraft screen. It as though the Grineer are _\- shooting for the sheer fuck of it-_ firing off at random. Unfortunately, this seems to have been enough to keep Steel Meridian's dropships from coming to evac them", Ordis informed the two Tenno.

Chroma study the intensity of the barrage for a moment before speaking, "How long until the others land, Ordis?"

"ETA for the remaining Tenno is exactly five minutes."

"And what's the priority of the anti-aircraft guns?", Mesa interjected.

"Top priority is Captain Vor and Lieutenant Lech Kril, a secondary objective is aiding the Steel Meridian and reverse order for you two. But two of the eight teams have been assign to take out the emplacements."

"Locate Cressa Tal", Chroma ordered and a second later a visual of the syndicate leader appear on the screen. She was in the middle of an intense firefight between her squad and a full platoon of Grineer marines and she was currently pinned down by three heavy gunners behind a boulder while Chroma notices another platoon on her left slowly advancing under fire to flank her and her squad. As the bullets from the Grineers' Gorgon began to slowly chip away the rock, Chroma spotted a figure coming up from behind them that made smoke come out of his mouth in annoyance.

Towering over everyone on the battlefield, be they Steel Meridian or not, and slowly moving toward Cressa Tal with his infamous hammer, Brokk, strapped to his back and firing away with his own personal Gorgon, was the famous war hero of the Grineer, Lieutenant Lech Kril.

"This day keeps getting better and better", Chroma muttered, seeing on his screen Mesa shaking her head in frustration, knowing that she had come to the same conclusion as well.

"We're going to have to hot-drop in", Chroma finally said, "Get ready. Ordis, I'm going to need you to sync up our drop and calculate the exact moment to release."

"Affirmative, Operator Chroma."

_**Hot-Dropping was the term used when a Tenno operative had to get into a drop zone, but the LZ was deemed too hot for their landing craft. Where usually the landing craft would hover over LZ and let the Tenno flip out and drop to the ground; the landing craft accelerate to extremely high speed and then proceeds to drop the Tenno operative in mid-flight and then turns sharply and leaves. This literally shoots the Tenno out like a bullet to the LZ and allows them to glide in. While this method minimizes the damage from enemy fire to the Tenno, they are still gliding in at neck-breaking speed and usually have difficulty fully controlling their landing.** _

"You assist Cressa Tal while I handle Kril", Chroma states, only to see Mesa snap her neck at him.

"Please tell me that was your idea of a joke, suga!", Mesa said, "Kril fought Rhino, the strongest of us all, to a draw, and he fought him with his Fragor! Your sword isn't going to stand a chance against him and he's heavily shielded against ranged attacks!"

"You underestimate  _ **Tiamat's Wrath**_ ", Chroma says as he began to position himself for the drop, "I'll hold off Kril while you get Cressa Tal to safety for a evac, unless you want to take him on for as long as he's around, the Grineer's assault is only going to get worse. And by fighting Kril, I'm ensuring that we will receive aid from the other teams since he is a priority target."

"It's still a dumb plan, suga", Mesa countered.

"I'm not trying to beat him, only stall him", Chroma repeated, "Ordis, how long until we're within range?"

"Currently coming up on the launching point. Operators, please make ready", the A.I. states as Mesa moves into herself into position as well, the magnetic pull from the stasis frame sealing her into place.

"Operator Mesa, operator Chroma, commencing last diagnosis check before launch", Ordis said as Mesa felt a surge of digital energy flow through her…

_**Operator Mesa Status Check:** _

**Shields: Green**

**Vital Signs: Green**

**Armor: Green**

**Energy: Fully Charged**

**Energy Siphon Mod Install**

_**Operator Mesa's Weapons Check:** _

**Snipertron Status: Green**

**Soma Status: Green**

**Akvasto Status: Green**

"Operator Mesa, prepared for mission", Ordis concluded, "Moving on to Operator Chroma"

_**Operator Chroma Status Check:** _

**Shields: Green**

**Vital Signs: Green**

**Armor: Green**

**Energy: Fully Charged**

**Energy Siphon Mod Install**

**Special Energy Flow: Fire**

_**Operator Chroma's Weapons Check**_ :

**Dragon Galatine (** _**Tiamat's Wrath** _ **) Status: Green**

**Daikyu Status: Green**

**Ferrox Status: Green**

"Operator Chroma, prepared for mission", Ordis said, "Preparing for launch, accelerating landing craft to maximum speed."

It was at that moment as Mesa mentally prepares herself for the battle ahead that she heard something over the communication link.

" _ **I am the dragon, master of all I survey. All that stands against me will fall, be it through fire, ice, lightning, or poison. I am the dragon, master of all I survey. All that stands against me will fall, be it through fire, ice, lightning, or poison."**_

"What the hell?", Mesa wondered before Ordis came over her comm link.

"It's the chant he says before every mission. It seems to steady his heartbeat and calm his nerves from what I have observed", he explains.

"Is that right?", Mesa asks as Ordis began the countdown.

"Preparing for rotation", he said over both of their comm links, "Rotating stasis in three….two...one."

Within a heartbeat, Mesa went from staring up at the ceiling of her landing craft to glazing upon the scorched landscape of the planet. Instantly, she felt her warframe interior cooling kick up to its maximum output just as she felt her skin began to heat up from the smothering environment around her. Even with the advance Orokin technology cooling her within her suit, she still felt the heat, but at least it was bearable and survivable.

"Still hotter than a whore in church, though", Mesa muttered, though she barely heard herself over the sound of the rushing air that jetted over her body as her and Chroma's landing craft approach the battlefield. They were still well out of range of the guns, but through Mesa's HUD she was able to make out a Steel Meridian's dropship taking a direct hit and getting blown out of the skies; it's pilot and passengers falling to the ground in a tangled mess of burning corpses and mangled flesh.

Before Mesa could comment on the attack, she heard Ordis talking to her.

"Launching in three….two….one...Go!"

Mesa felt the stasis frame turn off and release her and a heartbeat later, she once again experiences first-hand what a bullet felt like when it was shot out of a gun.

"Squad Delta, focus your fire on their left flank! Bravo, cover Alpha while they get their wounded to shelter! Charlie lay down some goddamn suppression fire!", Cressa Tal barked over the Steel Meridian comm-link while she herself was laying down fire with her Karak toward the advancing Grineer squad that was being led by none other than Lech Kril himself, "This has just turn into the system's biggest clusterfuck!"

A few hours ago, Cressa Tal received intel from one of her inside sources that Tyl Regor, the foremost Grineer scientist responsible for finding a cure for the negative effects of the Grineer cloning, was at Vor's base. The reasons why were vague at best, but that didn't matter to Cressa Tal. Ever since some of her comrades were captured by Vor and handed over to Tyl Regor, she wanted his head, almost as much as she wanted Vor. Ever since Tyl Regor publicly display a holo-video showing him conducting horrible experiments on her capture fellow Steel Meridians, she wanted revenge, so much that she didn't even inform the Lotus of her sudden attack way ahead of schedule; for she knew that woman would try to talk her out of it.

"Should have at least send her a message", Cressa Tal told herself, "A few Tenno backing me up could really help me out right now."

"Cressa Tal!", one of her sergeant next to her shouts out, "Look!"

Cressa Tal follows the stretch out hand of the free Grineer and spots two objects flying toward them at a high speed from behind their position. She could vaguely make out a slim yellow figure on the right and a bulkier red figure on the left, zooming toward them.

"Well I'll be damn", Cressa Tal chuckled, "Seems like my prayers are answered."

Mesa and Chroma were rocketing toward the Steel Meridian's position at a sharp downward incline, going at speeds that almost broke the sound barrier. On their personal HUD, the altitude indicators were rapidly dropping as the pair got closer and closer to the surface.

"1600 meters", Ordis read off, "1500...1400...1300"

Mesa drew her Akvasto from her back and re-straighten herself while Chroma drew  _ **Tiamat's Wrath**_.

"900...800...700...operators now is the recommended distance to prepare for gliding", the A.I. advise before continuing the countdown, " 500...400..300… nearing the surface level."

Both Tenno activated their gliding mechanism and their speeds rapidly decrease, but not to the point where they could land gently. Mesa landed first, sliding along the ground, leaving a deep trench in her wake and if she thought the air of the planet was scorching, then she was lucky she had a highly advanced suit of armor between her and the ground. Without skipping a beat, she takes aim with her dual pistols and lets out short three-round burst from each gun, taking out a heavy gunner and lancer from Lech Kril's squad in the process, before finally ending up at the rock where Cressa Tal was currently taking cover.

"Took your asses long enough to get here!", the Grineer defector says.

"Says the one who launched the attack three hours early without telling anyone!",Mesa quip back as she press her back against the rock, "So how deep are we in right now?"

"We lost three dropships coming in due to anti-aircraft fire and were only able to less than half our force before I had to wave off the rest due to the intensity of their screech! I got less than a hundred men with me right now, getting smaller by the second, while around another one-fifty are up in space!"

"We saw one of your dropships get hit on our way here!", the gunslinger Tenno inform Cressa Tal.

"Yeah, I saw. It was carrying all of Squad Foxtrot", Cressa Tal as she sigh and shook her head, despite the carnage going on around her, "They were one of my veteran squads. The have been through a shit ton of battles and some of them have even been with me since the founding of Steel Meridian."

"I would give you my condolences, suga, but I'm afraid we don't have time for that! We got to get you out of here!", Mesa told her.

"I figure that was why you were here! Hate to break it to ya, but I'm not leaving until either all of the Grineer loyalists are dead or all of my surviving men are off the planet!", Cressa Tal states bluntly, "Sorry if that throws a wrench in your plans."

"We both know it throws a wrench in our plans-", Mesa started to say before something caught her eye from behind Cressa Tal.

"One moment", she says as she draws her snipertron, takes aim, and delivers a headshot to a Ballistas that somehow got up on the cliff flanking their current position and was lining up a headshot on one of the Steel Meridian trooper. Before the Ballistas even drops her gun and falls over the side, Mesa was back to her conversation with Cressa Tal, "And second, we both know you're not sorry."

Cressa Tal looks behind her just in time to see the Ballistas' body hit the ground and looks up at the cliff where the sniper was previously out before shouting into her radio, "Bravo, keep a eye on the cliffs, will you?!"

She then turns her attention back to Mesa, "So how are we going to get out of here with Lech Kril bearing down on us?"

Mesa pokes her head out from around the rock, "Looks like Chroma handling that right now", before noticing something about the enemies assaulting them.

"You guys are almost equal in numbers here; how come you guys are getting push back so hard?", she asks.

"That's something I would like to know as well", Cressa Tal admitted, "For some reason, these Grineer are a lot tougher then the lot that I'm use to dealing with. More coordinated, more resilient, and even faster and stronger. Hell, I had a hard time taking down a Butcher of all things when we first landed."

_**What Chroma was doing while all that was going on** _

Chroma sometimes wonder what would happen if he used his fire breath in an environment that was already super-heated. He wondered if it would increase the strength of his flames or would it simply cancel them out. This, along with countless more, were the things that kept his mind occupied whenever he would mediate.

Well, now he had one less thing to ponder over during his mediation, for he had a front row seat to seeing just how dangerous his flames were in a super-heated environment as he glide over the squad being led by Lech Kril and let loose his  _ **Spectral Scream**_ them. His own mouth started to heat up upon releasing his flames but only to the point of mild discomfort as the Grineer who were caught in his blast weren't so lucky as they burst into flames and the smell of burning flesh filled the dragon Tenno nostrils. But Chroma had little time to dwelt as he was heading straight for Lech Kril, who at the moment was holstering his Gorgon and going straight for his infamous hammer, Brokk, and swinging it at Chroma.

**CLANK!**

Chroma could feel his entire warframe vibrate under the weight of the impact from the hammer as it collide with  _ **Tiamat's Wrath,**_ sending the Tenno flying backward. He was in the air for almost two seconds before backflipping and landing on his feet. He briefly notices while looking down small amount of smoke coming off of his armor and saw a warning symbol on his HUD come up indicating that his shield were being tax to their highest limit.

"Operator Chroma, due to circumstance, it will take longer for your shield to recharge than normal", Ordis inform him, "I recommend caution in your fight."

"Noted", Chroma said, "What can you tell me about Lech Kril?"

"Running analysis", was Ordis reply as Chroma ready his sword, "Analysis complete. Base off previous analysis from Operator Rhino encounter with Lech Kril, it would seem that Lech Kril has upgraded his movement speed to a certain percentage."

"What per-", Chroma started to say before he saw Lech Kril charging toward him with speeds he didn't think was possible for a Grineer his size. Chroma barely had time to dodge a downward swing of his hammer, the metal coming within a inch of his armor, before he spun around and counter with a horizontal slash to the lieutenant's mid-section only to have the blow block by the shaft of the hammer, Lech Kril wielding the heavy hammer as graceful as it were a tree branch. The Grineer lieutenant than proceed to swing his it over his head and sideways at Chroma's head once more only to feel nothing but thin air as the dragon of the Tenno flips backwards and land a couple feet away.

"Lech Kril as upgraded his speed by at least one hundred and ten percent", Ordis finish.

"Really? I didn't notice", Chroma nearly growled as he watched Lech Kril raise Brokk high above his head.

"Grineer immortality begins with the strike of my hammer!", he screams as he brings it down on the ground, creating a mini-quake in the process as a wave of sharpen ice spikes was sent toward Chroma along the ground, "ICE WAVE!"

Chroma first instinct was to jump back as fast as he could manage and for a brief moment it worked…..

Until he realize that the ice wasn't slowing down and if anything if was gaining speed. He quickly veer off to the right in hopes the attack would merely go by him but he briefly catches the movement of Lech Kril swinging his hammer to the right and the ice spikes swing right toward Chroma, who was once more on the backfoot of trying to escape.

"Operator Chroma, it would seem that Lech Kril can control the direction of his ice attacks with his hammer and that the ice must be at extremely freezing temperature to survive on Mercury's surface. I suggest you-  _break that fucking tool over his head-_  dislodge the weapon from his grasp.", Ordis said.

"Give me a moment", Chroma said as he noticed incoming fire was now raining down on his position from various locations. Now while Chroma had the fourth most armor on his warframe behind Valkyr , Nidus, and Atlas, even he could be brought down easily by multiple attacks without aid. And without having his ice energy to augment his defense, he wasn't going to last long.

"Would it kill you two ladies, and I use that term loosely, to give me some cover fire while I handle the majority of the leg-work?", he all but screamed into his integrated comm link, "I can't do everything myself!"

"My, how rude he is", Mesa commented as she took out her Soma and laid down suppression fire on the Grineer squad to Chroma left up on the cliffs, while Cressa Tal and her remaining squad exchange gunfire with the squad on his right, "You think the guy could be a little nicer about it."

"I know, right", Cressa Tal agreed, "Hey, by the way, where is the rest of ya'll crew? I doubt Lotus just send the two of you here."

"The rest of them are attacking the outpost from the other side in an attempt to trap Vor while also taking out the anti-craft guns", Mesa informed Cressa Tal.

"And when did they land exactly?", Cressa Tal asks.

"Ordis?", Mesa asks the A.I.

"The remaining Tenno landed ahead of schedule and have been on the ground for exactly four minutes", Ordis answered before going quite, "Sadly though, I seem to have lost contact with them."

Chroma lets out a fiery  _ **Spectral Scream**_ that stops Lech Kril  _ **Ice Wave**_ in its track and turns it into a evaporating puddle before responding to Ordis statement.

"What do you mean you lost contact with them?!", Chroma screamed, "There's over thirty of them!"

"That's just it Operator Chroma, something seems to be jamming their signals. I'm still receiving all vital signs green but they seem to be slightly panicking and Excalibur's signs shows of one who is in heavy close quarters combat, his energy flow signals seems to have been block off as well. I'm patching you and Operator Mesa into their communication traffic now."

Mesa listens in to the traffic while Chroma continued to duel with Lech Kril, who had now close the gap between them and was unleashing a fury of blows onto the Tenno who was force to use his giant sword as nothing more than a shield to survive.

"Excalibur….(static)… _._ holding…..Trinity needs cover!….Coming our way!….Frost!….Slow it down! Take down, Vor!… Get out of the way!…. Inaros is down!...Prime!…. Prime!", was all she could make out through the noise.

" _Prime?",_ Mesa thought, " _What's this thing_ _called_ _"Prime"?_ _Also, is that swords clashing I hear in the background? Ordis did indicate that Excalibur may be in heavy close quarters combat, but Lech Kril is here and Vor is nowhere close to matching Excalibur in swordsmanship, therefore there is no one around who should be giving Excalibur such a hard time."_

She had no time to dwell on these thoughts before her HUD starting suddenly acting up. It scrambled and darken for a few seconds before returning to normal.

"What the hell?", Mesa wondered aloud.

"Mesa! Do your HUD just start acting up?", Chroma called out to her as he ducks a hammer swing to his head.

"Yeah, yours too?", Mesa asks.

"Yep", as he parries a swing, "Ordis?"

"Something is interfering with your signals as well", Ordis explained, "I suggest arwtfdaafdsafgsdf", as his voice started to scramble and then went dead.

...

...

"Ordis?", Mesa wondered as she drew snipertron and headshotted three Grineers, "Ordis, you there?".

Out of the corner of her eye on the other side of the battlefield, she sees a black blur streak by. Bringing her gun to bear she zeros in on that location only to see nothing more than five dead Grineer soldiers.

" _Wasn't that squad just firing upon one of the Steel Meridian units?",_ Mesa thought before hearing Cressa Tal yelling over her comms.

"Bravo, come in! Bravo, respond! Is their anyone over there?!", Cressa she screamed before howling in frustration, "I can't reach Bravo squad! No one's responding!"

What about everyone else?", Mesa asks as she combed the area, never relaxing her guard. Once again she barely catches a black blur streak by, but by the time she tries to get her sight on it, it was once again gone, " _What the hell is going on?"_

"Charlie, come in!", Cressa Tal tried, "Alpha, report! Delta, get me a sitrep! Is there anyone still out there?!"

Suddenly, screams of pain and horror came pouring into the comm link…

"Cressa Tal, get out of here! Whatever it is, it's-AHHHHH!"

"What the fuck?!", Cressa Tal cursed, "Bityio, what's going on?! Bityio!"

"Why is the sound of gunfire decreasing?", Chroma asks he brought his sword to bear down upon Lech Kril only to have it block once again by the shaft of Brokk. Now he and the famous Grineer war hero were locked in a pushing contest of strength and it was one that Chroma knew he wasn't going to win as it was taking everything he got just to keep from being flung backwards.

Without warning, alarms started going off in his mind as his Effigy, Aforitos, was suddenly mentally screaming for him to get out the way and he only did that whenever he was in seriously danger from a attack he couldn't see coming. Without skipping a beat, Chroma ducks down and rolls to his left just as a black streak goes flying over him into Lech Kril. When Chroma recover a second later and looks over at Lech Kril ready for another bout, he lets out a audible gasp as his eyes widen in shock.

There in an ever-growing pool of his own blood was the mangled body of Lech Kril. His hammer laid a good five feet from him, a deep gash in its metal. His left arm had been taken completely off, severed all the way from the shoulder and laid next to his broken left leg. Miraculously, he was somehow still alive as he was literally crawling toward Brokk with his one good arm, shouting curses at the Tenno the whole time.

"All squads! Focus your fire on the Tenno scum!", he ordered, only to realize a moment later the same thing that Chroma himself just noticed….

That only he, Chroma, Mesa, Cressa Tal and her remaining squad, were the only ones still standing in the immediate vicinity.

"What the hell is going on?", Chroma asks aloud as he takes a defensive stance with his  _ **Tiamat's Wrath**_ , "Ordis, come in. Ordis, are you there?", Chroma calls into his comm link while scanning the area.

"I can't raise him either", Mesa adds, "Something is jamming out Ordis. Whoever is doing this must at least have Orokin level-"

Mesa catches movement out of her left eye and turns to fire at it. Due to her rapid trigger finger, she was able to let off three rounds at the shadowy blur coming straight at her from over twenty yards away….

And could only watch in horror as it dodges the first two and deflects the last one with a blood red object.

"Oh, shi-", was all she had time to say before the blur was upon her and she received a powerful backhand that sent her flying over the rock and landing on the other side of it on her side.

"Who the fuck are you?!", Cressa Tal screamed as she brings her gun to her hip and unleashes a full clip on the attacker, only to have every single round deflected away by the mysterious being in a flash of red.

"The flying fuck?", Cressa Tal curses as she suddenly feels a tremendously sharp pain go through her right shoulder as she realizes that the attacker in the span of less than a second had just pierced her armor as though it was paper. She lets out an agonizing scream that echoes throughout the area as she was lifted up by the weapon still in her shoulder and flung aside like a rag-doll, hitting the wall of the nearby cliff with a resounding bang.

"My fucking head is ringing", Mesa complained as she came to, "What the hell just hit me?"

" _ **I AM YOUR RECKONING!",**_ a voice thunders next to her, overwhelming her warframe's audio sensors, prompting Mesa to turn over on her back with her Akvasto drawn, but it was too late…

The last thing she saw was a glowing blood red sword coming down on top of her head.


	3. Chapter 3

**Preview**

She examines the helmet with a sniper's gaze; the deep indention running along the right side over the eye catches her attention, " _One swipe did that. One swipe was less than a few millimeters from cutting through highly built Orokin armor and ending my life on that hellish planet. And to think of all the people, I have him to thank for saving...",_ she suddenly stops as her mind drifts toward the Dragon Tenno.

" _Why?",_ Mesa thought as she finishes up linking up into her warframe and finally donning her scarred helmet behind the shielded curtain, " _Why did he do that?"_

As she limps out into the main infirmary room of the Orbiter, she sees that it was a frenzy of movement at the moment as Trinity, the head medical specialist, alongside Oberon and Equinox, were doing their best to treat the wounded Tenno and surviving Grineer of Steel Meridian. Luckily for everyone here those three, mainly Trinity, are kept in the rear during the mission as it was protocol. In fact, Trinity's survival was also sometimes deemed a higher priority than the main objective, though this was also the main reason why she rarely went out on missions.

It also helped that a number of Tenno also had the  _ **Rejuvenation**_ mod on their warframes, so that help minimizes the overalls causalities.

Anyway, Mesa notices Chroma was mediating within the midst of the group using his  _ **Fire Elemental Ward**_  to stabilize the more seriously injured until they could be seen. Mesa's hawk-like eyes were trained on him as he retains his cross-legged levitating form as a rolling wave of dancing flames radiated off him onto those nearby yet they did not burn, more so the flames cleanse their bodies of the wounds inflicted on them.

Laying the closest to Chroma, basking in is healing flames, was the Void Tenno, Harrow and the Berserker Tenno, Valkyr.

"It would seem….that once again...I'm in your debt, Dragon Tenno", the master of the void voices and Mesa sworn she saw Chroma's body tense up.

"We have gone over this before, Harrow", Chroma spoke, "It's Excalibur you owe a debt too if you feel you must own one, not I. He was the one who freed you from your prison."

"Yet….you assisted him. And before that, on that forsaken ship….", Harrow began before Chroma cut him off.

"Enough! Quit talking and conserve your strength until Trinity is able to see you", Chroma advised as he turns his attention toward the Berserker Tenno, who only stares back at him in silence, "Do you have something to add to this as well?"

Valkyr merely grunts as she turns her head away, but not before growling at a couple of Steel Meridian survivors who got a little too nosy for their own good.

" _Fire that burns his enemies, heals wounds, and even boosts health. Ice that increases his durability, slows his enemies and deflects bullets. Poison that somehow increases his stamina and corrodes his foes. Last, but not least, lightning that allows him to shock those around him while modifying his own shields. This is not even counting **Effigy** ,  **Vex Armor** , or his **Spectral Scream**. I guess Ordis wasn't kidding when he stated that Chroma was more than likely the most versatile of all the Tenno", _ Mesa thought as she recalled the conversation she had with the Ship A.I. that day she was on bridge watch, chatting with it to pass the time. The two of them got on the discussion on who was the best Tenno in regards to certain categories and safe to say it got…interesting.

In terms of who was the fastest, Loki had the highest unaltered speed, but when Volt used his energy to boost himself, he had no rival. Most durable went to Valkyr, who surpassed even Rhino in that field while the Tank Tenno himself held the title of being the most physically strongest Tenno. They went about this topic for hours before Ordis brought up the fact that almost every Tenno was lacking in an area and had to use mods to compensate for them….except Chroma, who only had to use his own abilities to boost himself.

" _I could only imagine how powerful he would be if he could change elements on the fly",_ Mesa thinks as she watches Trinity finally get over to where Chroma was mediating.

"Thank you, Chroma. The medical bots and I will take it from here", the Healer Tenno tells him to which Chroma merely nods and returns himself to a standing position, his disbursing upon doing so.

"I'll see my way out then", he says as he begins to walk away only to be stop by Trinity as she holds up a hand.

"I would like to take a closer look at that wounds you sustain", Trinity states.

"There's no need to worry about that, you have more pressing matters to attend to", Chroma assures her, "If possible, you could medically clear me, I'll be on my way in tracking down information about this "Stalker" and his warframe suit."

Trinity, who many suspected was the oldest female among the Tenno, and one of the oldest overall, only stare at Chroma for a moment before agreeing.

"Very well then", she says as she turns around, "I do have more important issues to deal with and you do have something of a self-healing factor, but-"

Trinity now had Chroma full attention…

"Ordis, I'm placing Operator Chroma on temporarily suspensions from all sorties until he is medically clear by me or by the Lotus, understood?", she declares.

"Affirmative, Operator Trinity", the A.I. responds, "Placing Operator Chroma's landing craft on temporarily lock-down and restricting him from sorties. This restriction can only be removed with the Lotus' approval. I will inform the Lotus about this decision upon the conclusion of her - _screaming match/catfight/bitching fest-_ debrief with Cressa Tel."

"What are you doing?", Chroma damn near growled and Mesa could once again feel a surge of heat spring up in the room, drawing everyone's attention to the two Tenno.

"As the Head Medical Specialist onboard the Orbiter, I am declaring you medically unfit for action. You are forbidden from taking part of any missions until I deem you fit or the Lotus herself overrules me and once I explain my case to her, I'm positive she will see things my way", Trinity explains as she turns around, not the least bit faze by the mounting heat that was emitting off of Chroma.

"My physical wounds do not inhibit me from carrying out sorties", Chroma counters.

"This isn't about your physical wounds and you know it. You will report back to the medical bay at 0900 tomorrow and we will begin your rehabilitation", the Healer Tenno tells him as she makes her way over to Harrow to begin examining him, "Good day, Chroma."

Mesa spots Chroma's hands curl up into fists and wonders for a moment if he was thinking about attacking the healer. As she watches his shoulders heave up and down along with the Dragon Tenno flexing his fingers and taking deep breaths, Mesa couldn't help but respect the fact that Trinity wasn't even fazed by these actions.

"After everything I have done today, this is the thanks I get?", Chroma growled.

"I am fully aware of your actions today and I'm sure your valiant efforts are appreciated by those who own you their lives. But I was monitoring your frequency as well as the video capture during your fight with this "Stalker". Going off your body language and dialogue alone, it almost seemed like you were familiar with him in some way.", Trinity calmly states only for Chroma to abruptly turn around a moment later and stalk out of the compartment.

" _I need answers",_ Mesa tells herself as she begins to tail him through the ship's hallways, keeping her distance for the time being until she felt that the moment was right for her to confront him, which in her mind was when they were far enough away from the rest of the ship's occupants.

As she rounds the corner into the main hallway, she is astonished to find it completely void.

"He just went this way a second ago", she tells herself, "Where did he get along to?"

"Is there a reason why you're following me?", a voice from behind her ask and on pure instinct the Gunslinger Tenno whirls around, her hands going to her dual pistols as she grips the handles…

And that is where she found her hands staying as Chroma's hands tighten around her, preventing them from drawing.

"Usually, this would be the time I would ask why are you still arm up here on the Orbiter when everyone else who was able kept their weapons in their landing craft", he began as he stares directly at her, "But at this very moment, I do not care. Once again, why are you following me?"

….

…..

…

"I'm going to take your silence as my cue to leave", Chroma says as he lets go of Mesa's hands and began to walk past her.

"Wait!", Mesa shouted out as he only got a few steps behind her, "I want answers from you!"

Chroma stops in his tracks and glances over his shoulder at the Gunslinger Tenno, "And they say I need to work on how I talk to people."

"Why did you do all that?", Mesa asks.

"I'm going to assume you're talking about what transpired back on Mercury…."


End file.
